Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Frank Jonas.  The Cabinet Member wished Councillor Jonas a swift recovery.

To note and declarations of interest.

None.

Purpose

To inform the Cabinet Member out the outline funding levels for the Revenue Grant payments to cultural organisations for the financial year 2019/20 following the budget agreement at the Full Council meeting on 11th December 2018.

Recommendation

To confirm the details of the funding levels which have previously been agreed by Members at Full Council for cultural organisations for the financial year 2019-2020.

The Partnership & Commissioning Manager, Culture, Leisure & Regulatory Services presented the report and highlighted the following issues:

·      All grant awards were subject to a detailed Service Level Agreement and a range of monitoring and measurable delivery in association with the funding provided by the Council.  For the 2018-19 financial year all organisations had been asked to consider their specific provision for Looked After Children and the SLAs for 2019- 2020 would request specific consideration of support for a harder to reach group in consultation with the Cabinet Member.

·      That the City of Portsmouth Preserved Transport provided specialist storage and maintenance for historic vehicles from Portsmouth's Museums collection. Of the allocated funds, £5,300 were met by Resources and only £900 from Culture, Leisure & Sport.

·      That feedback from the SLA's for the current year would not be received until the end of the financial year. Outcomes would include the positive involvement of Children's Services.

·      That the funding was used to lever additional funds from outside organisations such as the Arts Council and the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Resolved:  That the Cabinet Member confirmed the details of the funding levels which had previously been agreed by Members at Full Council for cultural organisations for the financial year 2019-2020.

Purpose

To provide details of the formal agreements that will be produced to administer the Landing Craft Tank (LCT) Project in partnership with the National Museum of the Royal Navy.

The Museums and Visitor Services Manager presented the rport and highlighted the following points:

·           LCT 7074 was the only surviving Landing Craft (Tank) from D-Day and one of only three in the world. The LCT Project would ensure the vessel was conserved and relocated to Southsea as part of The D-Day Story. The two D-Day previously displayed outside the museum would also be conserved. The project would be funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF). LCT 7074 would open to the public in spring 2020.

·           The project was a partnership between Portsmouth City Council (The D-Day Story, DDS) and the National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN). The partnership would need to be proactively sustained over the next 25 years (the duration of the contract with the NLHF).

The Cabinet Member noted the report.

Purpose

To update Members on the forthcoming Portsmouth revisited exhibition at Portsmouth Museum and advise that an application for funding will be submitted to Arts Council England (ACE).

The Learning Officer presented the report, and highlighted the following areas:

That Portsmouth revisited aimed to engage residents with the city's art collection. It was comprised of two parts; a 6 month exhibition and a programme of events aimed at families and local residents.

A range of activities were planned inspired by the paintings on show and the themes explored would include football, market trading, costume and the Royal Family's association with Portsmouth.

That the intention was to create a cultural hub at the museum that families could become involved with.

The Cabinet Member noted the report.

Purpose

To inform the Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure and Sport of the progress of The D-Day Story's D-Day 75 Community Project

The Museums & Visitor Service Manager presented the report and highlighted the following areas:

·         That the D-Day 75 Community Project aimed to support community groups seeking to uncover, record and share their area's D-Day heritage. It included training on using sources, advice on how to use their findings, and how to interpret them for others. The group's final outputs will be presented to the public at the commemoration events in June.

·         The communities that the project aims to connect with are groups that are harder to reach, such as ethnic minorities, people with disabilities and communities in isolation. The museum was currently working with seven community groups.

·         Archive material was being taken out of the museum and into the community which increased access to the collections.

·         The outcomes for the project will focus around enhancing research skills, promoting learning and instilling confidence within the local community. In regards to our collections, an additional outcome will be the increased access and knowledge of how to access the collections and other city research facilities such as the History Centre.

The Cabinet Member noted the report.

Purpose

To inform Members of the creative learning projects and volunteering opportunities inspired by the Overlord Embroidery and the D-Day Story.

The Museums & Visitor Service Manager presented the report and highlighted the following areas:

·           Students from Priory School and Havant & South Downs College were engaged in a project to design and make new textile work in response to the Overlord Embroidery and other objects on show at The D-Day Story.  The work the students produced would be displayed at a celebratory event at the museum in summer 2019

·           A partnership with the Royal School of Needlework means that its tutors will deliver a bi-monthly series of embroidery day classes at The D-Day Story starting in March 2019. The classes had been specially designed for the museum and were inspired by the techniques and subject matter in the Overlord Embroidery.

·           A new role of 'Volunteer embroidery explainer-demonstrator' has been created at The D-Day Story.  The volunteers were based in the new 'Making the Overlord Embroidery' gallery.  They demonstrated embroidery techniques, answered questions and encouraged visitors to engage with the hands-on activities in the gallery.

The Cabinet Member noted the report.